Knowledge Loss in Construction Project-Based Organizations: The Role of Project Features, Knowledge Withholding, Fear, and Teams Interaction

Knowledge loss (KL), the disappearance of critical knowledge once a project ends, remains a persistent threat to the sustainability of organizational performance and competitiveness despite ongoing efforts to implement knowledge retention (KR) methods in construction organizations. This study presents a new research model to examine why KL occurs and how valuable project knowledge can be effectively retained. From the conservation of resources (COR) perspective, we aim to investigate how project urgency and temporariness, referred to as project features (PFs), influence knowledge loss through members’ knowledge withholding (KW) behavior, how this association is affected by their psychological emotions (fears), and the contingent role relational resources, namely project team interaction (PTI), plays in this association. Data were collected from a sample of 469 construction experts with extensive experience in international engineering projects undertaken by Chinese international companies. Partial least squares path modeling (PLS-PM) analysis using SmartPLS 4 was employed to empirically test the proposed theoretical model. The results show that KW behavior is a critical driver of KL and serves as a mediator of the impact of PFs on KL. PFs were found to be positively associated with members’ KW behavior. This linkage was partially mediated by fear of failure (FF), while fear of losing uniqueness (FLU) showed no significant mediating effect. PTI played a moderating role in the relationship between KW and KL. Based on these findings, minimizing KL requires management to focus on reducing FF by fostering a climate of mistake tolerance, and subsequently strengthening PTI to promote effective knowledge exchange. The results of this study offer new theoretical and practical insights into KL risk management within construction organizations.